Dr. Andl has a long-standing interest in epithelial biology and upper-aero-digestive diseases. Starting with her training in Germany at the ENT Clinic at the University of Heidelberg, she studied the expression of adhesion molecules as prognostic head-and neck squamous cell carcinoma markers during my Master’s thesis. Her interests expanded to mechanisms of epithelial cell signaling and invasion for her Ph.D. and postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania. During her post-doctoral training with Dr. Rustgi in the GI Division, she laid the foundations for her current research program focusing on oral and esophageal biology and the role of cell signaling in tissue homeostasis. The studies in her laboratory show that the disruption of homeostasis is dependent on epithelial-mesenchymal crosstalk. The use of innovative three-dimensional organotypic reconstruct cultures allows to investigate the signaling pathways and molecular events as well as the manipulation and analysis of both, the epithelial and the mesenchymal compartment.
Dr. Andl is an active member of the scientific community: She is a member of the editorial board for Frontiers in Bioscience (since 2011), PLoS ONE (since 2012) and American Journal of Cancer Research (since 2014), and serves as ad hoc reviewer for more than 15 journals, including Gastroenterology, Cancer Research, Oncogene, Clinical Cancer Research. As a member of the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA), Dr. Andl participates in Abstract Review Committees and has been Chair for several sessions at the annual AGA symposium, Digestive Disease Week.
Education:
Dr. Andl received the Masters of Science (1992-97) from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. She received her Ph.D. in 2001 from the University of Essen, Germany (summa cum laude), completing her research project for that degree at the University of Pennsylvania, PA.
Postdoctoral Training:
From 2001 to 2005 Dr. Andl was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the GI Division at the University of Pennsylvania, PA. In 2006 she was presented with the Research Scholar Award from the American Gastroenterology Association, Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition. Until 2008 Dr. Andl served as a Research Associate at the University of Pennsylvania, before joining the Vanderbilt University faculty as Assistant Professor in February 2008. Dr Andl joined UCF in January 2016.
Contact:
Claudia D Andl, PhD
Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences
4110 Libra Drive
Building 20, Room 223
Orlando, FL 32816
Office: 407-823-1147
Lab: 407-823-1148